Data, Theory, and Evolutionary PhenomenaOrigins & Design 17:2

Table 1Data

The more or less direct results of observation and measurement,
i.e., the "raw" products of experimental procedures
or field observations (such as the position of a planet at a given
time, relative to fixed stars). Data can be described as scientific
"facts."

Phenomena

Phenomena are inferred from patterns of data, and thus cannot
be straightforwardly observed. Kepler's laws of planetary motion,
for instance, are phenomena inferred from a large body of observational
(astronomical) data. Phenomena may also be called "facts,"
but they are far more complex than data.

Theories

Theories provide explanations for phenomena. Newton's theory
of gravitation explains the phenomena of Kepler's laws of planetary
motion and Galileo's law of falling bodies. Theories are not facts.